CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – There’s been a debate on The Meg Ellefson Show about the abortion issue in Wisconsin. The state’s 1849 abortion ban is in peril. Judge Janet Protasiewicz campaigned as a champion of a women’s right to choose. The case that could overturn the law is already in the pipeline; it was argued earlier this year.
It’s a rarity when I disagree with Senator Ron Johnson, whose conservative credentials are impeccable. But Senator Johnson proposes a statewide referendum on abortion. In my opinion, that’s the wrong approach. (Aside from the fact that laws are not made by direct referendum in Wisconsin.)
I believe if a referendum was allowed, the pro-choice crowd would win. So… shouldn’t that be the law of the land, then? Well, no. We don’t use direct democracy to determine what the law is. The law, in part, protects the rights of minorities – or, in this case, the unborn. In fact, since I believe stopping the practice of abortion, permanently, is the moral issue of our times, I’m willing to risk future political defeats to be on the right side of history.
We’ve seen something like this before. When Barak Obama was president, he believed universal health care, or something close to it, was the social issue of his time. It was expensive and restrictive and generally unpopular. It was sold to the public with a lie: “If you like your health insurance, you can keep your health insurance. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Neither was true. But Obama pushed his plan through Congress, using reconciliation in the U.S. Senate where only 51 votes were needed, passed on Christmas Eve 2009. Voters punished Democrats; they lost their majority the following fall. Obama would never have a friendly Congress again. It didn’t matter to him. He achieved something he believed in. He delivered a signature, game-changing achievement.
I see abortion the same way. If there was a path to a permanent ban on baby-killing in the United States, I wouldn’t care how many Republicans get voted out off office. The purpose of amassing political power is to use it, not to have a favorable head-count of donkeys versus elephants.
When I look at my interests in politics, I never ask myself how many people I helped get elected. I ask, “what did we get done?”
Chris Conley
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